1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of reconfiguring a robot apparatus and a software component that may optimize an internal component of the robot apparatus in response to a changed environment by recognizing a change in an external and internal environment. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for optimizing components and a method of reconfiguring a configuration of a robot apparatus or a component using optimized environment settings, a software component included in the robot apparatus, or a software component downloaded from an external server.
Also, the present invention relates to a robot apparatus and a method of controlling the robot apparatus to adapt to various commands input by a user to the robot apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a robot apparatus and a method of controlling the robot apparatus that may optimize an internal component or a configuration of a software component in response to a command of a user, that is, the robot apparatus and a method of controlling the robot apparatus that may process the command optimally by changing the internal component of the robot apparatus to be optimum, from a current component of the robot apparatus to an optimal component, in response to various commands input by the user, based on an environment in which the robot apparatus may be operated.
2. Description of the Related Art
When compared to a conventional industrial robot, an intelligent robot needs to actively perform various functions, for example, moving, sensing, processing, and the like, to provide a user with more various services. When the sensing function is supplemented in the intelligent robot, the intelligent robot may behave more actively based on an accurate recognition of a situation, and constraints on processing may be removed. Accordingly, a function of the robot may be broadened to perform various services, whereby intelligence of the robot may be improved.
Accordingly, the intelligent robot may include various sensors and imaging devices to recognize an object, a human, or a location of the robot, and may include a number of actuators to take an action suitable for a particular situation. The intelligent robot may have a system configuration in which the various sensors, actuators, and imaging devices are physically distributed, and may include at least one input and output board and at least one processor board. As aforementioned, the intelligent robot may actively perform various services. For example, when the sensing function is supplemented, the intelligent robot may behave move actively based on an accurate recognition of a situation.
Since the intelligent robot is used in various fields, various types of robots are being developed.
Since it may be inefficient to manufacture different robots depending on environments that the robots are to be used in, research is being conducted on a method that may provide a robot having various actuator, sensing, and processing functions, and may optimize the actuator, sensing, and processing functions. However, such a method has yet to be developed sufficiently, to date.
As an example, according to a conventional art, when an indoor robot is to be used outdoors, a robot manufactured to be used indoors may not be used outdoors since an internal environment and an external environment are vastly different from each other. Problems lie in that, in order to use the indoor robot outdoors, a separate robot optimized to the external environment should be manufactured, internal components of the indoor robot should be replaced so as to adapt to the external environment, and a user should set resultant environmental variables and application programs separately.
As another example, a robot that is used in an identical environment may not be operated normally due to a fault occurring in a component constituting the robot, for example, a driving device, for example, a motor, or a sensor, for example, a laser sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and the like. In this instance, the robot may need to deactivate the component in which the fault occurs, and to perform a provided command only using other operable components.
However, in the conventional art, when a fault occurs, the robot may report such a fault to a user or an administrator. The user or the administrator may suspend operation of the robot to fix the fault, and may resume operation of the robot. In this instance, a problem exists in that the operation of the robot may be suspended until the fault is fixed.
Similarly, when a fault occurs in a sensor, which is one of several components in the robot, the operation of the robot may be suspended until the fault is fixed, in the same manner.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method that may optimally perform a command without suspending operation of a robot, by reconfiguring components using operable components, excluding components in which a fault occurs although an environment of the components in the robot, that is, an internal environment of the robot, is dynamically changed by the fault occurring in the components in the robot.
In addition, with application of a robot to various fields, a method of applying a robot having a uniform platform in various application fields is being studied. As an example, research is being conducted on a robot having a single platform may assist in cleaning, assist in various tasks, and assist in education of children. However, the research has yet to yield any results. In reality, actuators and sensing portions used in the aforementioned robots are similar to each other
According to current development circumstances, components to be included in a robot may need to be reset or reconfigured in order to have a plurality of functions performed in different environments via a single platform. In the process of resetting or reconfiguring the components, a configuration of components of a robot, setting variables of the components, or the like may need to be optimized so that the robot may adapt to a new environment. Accordingly, the robot may be taken back to a location where experts having professional technical expertise, for example, robot manufacturers, and the like, are situated, and may be reset or reconfigured before being returned to a user. The foregoing process may present a serious inconvenience to the user. Also, since the robot may be optimized to an environment predetermined by the robot manufacture, as opposed to an environment in which the robot is actually used, a problem also lies in that the robot may fails to be optimized to the environment in which the robot is actually used. Also, problems lie in that the robot may not be used in various environments in real time, and different robots may be needed in different environments.